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Isa Soares Tonight
U.S. Proposes Russia-Ukraine Peace Plan; President Trump Signs Bill to Release Jeffrey Epstein Files; USAID Leaves Mozambique Behind. How USAID Cuts Impact Mozambique; Onstage Fall Turns Into Victory for Miss Philippines Contestant; Escalation of Violence in Gaza; Qatar Condemning Israeli Brutal Airstrikes. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired November 20, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Christina Macfarlane in for Isa Soares. Tonight, a
peace plan that could end the war between Ukraine and Russia. But Ukraine and Europe have been left in the dark. We'll have the details.
Plus, Trump signs on the dotted line to release the Epstein files. But when will the long anticipated documents drop? We're live in Washington. And as
USAID was pulled out from under those in need, ISIS is filling the gap left behind in Mozambique. CNN is live on the ground with an exclusive report.
But we begin with the new U.S. peace plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine, one which is being met with skepticism and even denial on the world stage.
While the Trump administration has touted the plan, the Kremlin is once again saying that no talks are currently taking place. A source tells CNN,
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in Kyiv with top Pentagon officials, and Ukraine has received a draft of the new proposal.
Well, an official familiar with the document, meanwhile, says it calls for Ukraine to cede some territory to Russia, a demand Zelenskyy has made clear
in the past is unacceptable. Under the plan, Ukraine would have to limit the size of its military, but would receive U.S.-backed security
guarantees. Until now, Ukraine and its European allies have been kept in the dark about the 28-point proposal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAJA KALLAS, CHIEF, EU FOREIGN POLICY: Our position hasn't changed. For any peace plan to succeed, it has to be supported by Ukraine, and it has to
be supported by Europe. If Russia really wanted peace, they would have accepted the unconditional ceasefire offer already in March.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggests the document is a list of potential ideas rather than a completed proposal. A
top Ukrainian lawmaker slammed the plan, saying it fails to consider any of Kyiv's demands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, CHAIR, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: We don't know much yet about the details of this so-called plan. But to me
it looks really suspicious and ludicrous, because to me, it looks like a summary of the previous Russian ludicrous and absolutely unacceptable for
Ukraine demands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, amid the search for survivors from this week's massive Russian attack in western Ukraine, residents are honoring the victims with
a makeshift memorial. At least, 26 people were killed, including 3 children. Our Clare Sebastian has the latest developments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russia's provocations against the West are becoming bolder. A deadly drone and missile attack on
western Ukraine, causing NATO to deploy jets, a Russian spy ship in British waters, a Polish rail track funneling aid to Ukraine, attacked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The intention was clearly to kill Polish citizens.
SEBASTIAN: Russia is escalating far beyond the frontlines. Cruise missiles hitting residential buildings, Wednesday, killing more than two dozen
people and causing Poland and Romania to scramble jets. This Russian Intelligence ship sailed to the edge of British waters this week, the U.K.
says, and directed lasers at Air Force pilots sent to track it.
JOHN HEALEY, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, BRITAIN: So, my message to Russia and to Putin is this. We see you, we know what you're doing.
SEBASTIAN: The Kremlin refused to comment, and says it had nothing to do with the Polish train line attack. But why now?
(on camera): Why hasn't recent U.S. pressure the shelving of a planned leaders summit in Budapest?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not going to be wasting my time.
SEBASTIAN: Sanctions on Russia's oil giant, Ukraine openly using U.S.-made ATACMs missiles on Russia this week. Why hasn't all that deterred Moscow?
Well, perhaps Russia wants to show what it's capable of before international pressure steps up again. But U.S. and Russian sources told
CNN this week that high level talks have continued behind the scenes, keeping Russian hopes of improved bilateral relations alive.
And perhaps giving Moscow the confidence it can still persuade the U.S., the war will end quickest on Russia's terms. Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well, CNN's Kevin Liptak is joining us from Washington. And Kevin, as we laid out earlier, this 28-point plan includes many concessions
that Ukraine will, frankly, just outright reject.
[14:05:00]
What more details are you hearing about the key tenets of this plan, and how set they are, given Marco Rubio, as we just mentioned earlier, was
saying this is -- or suggesting this is just a list of ideas.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right, and the line from the White House today has been very much that this is a work in progress,
that the plan as being circulated and as being reported, does not in any way reflect what they view as a final proposal to bring this war to an end.
But its contents, at least, as we have heard from western officials, do appear heavily skewed to the Russian point of view to this war. You know,
it would require, for example, Ukraine to give up the entire eastern Donbas region, parts of which, it still has control over other parts of the
country that are contested, their lines would be frozen at the current battle lines.
We also understand that this would require Ukraine to limit the size of its military, to give up some of the long-range weapons capabilities that it's
been provided over the course of this war. A lot of this will be very hard for Ukraine to stomach.
But what we've heard from the White House, including just in the last few minutes or so, from Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, is
that this document and that the preparations for this plan did include both the Ukrainian and Russian points of view.
And she has acknowledged that it will require concessions not only from Ukraine, but also from Russia, and again emphasized that President Trump is
very eager to get this war over with. And that seems to be why this is all happening right now. You know, the President saw success with a similar
approach in Gaza.
You know, this multi-point proposal that then he applied an enormous amount of pressure on both sides to accept. And you heard Karoline Leavitt
reference that as she described the process that's now underway in Ukraine. Now, today, a senior Pentagon official, Dan Driscoll, who is the Secretary
of the Army, was in Kyiv.
He did meet with President Zelenskyy. Those meetings were positive according to Leavitt. And what the Ukrainians have said afterwards is that,
they had positive discussions, and that the U.S. hopes that this plan will quote, "reinvigorate diplomacy", and that they're now sort of in
conversations about what they want included in this proposal.
And so, I do think it's clear that as this plan circulates, and as you know, Europeans and Ukrainians digest all of these 28 points that the White
House doesn't see it as fixed at this moment, but certainly it's clear as well that there will be some things that Ukraine will have to accept as
part of this plan, that it may not agree with and may have been non- starters in the past as President Trump really applies the pressure to try and bring this war to an end.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and what's really curious about all of this, Kevin, in the last few hours, the Kremlin has once again denied it is working with
the U.S. on a Ukraine peace plan. Kevin, thank you for now. I want to discuss all of this with our next guest, who is joining us from Washington
as well, Evelyn Farkas, who served as the deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Obama administration, and is now the Executive Director for
the McCain Institute. Thank you for joining us.
EVELYN FARKAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE MCCAIN INSTITUTE: Oh, thank you for having me.
MACFARLANE: So, Evelyn, first, I just wanted to get your immediate thoughts on this so-called peace plan. Is this really about peace or just a
capitulation here?
FARKAS: Yes, I mean, it's not about a peace. It's not about a durable peace, certainly, because it's silent on security guarantees. And as you
already pointed out, it requires Ukraine to give up sovereign territory and people who live on that territory. Territory, that is not even in Russia's
control. So, it's not even a fair peace.
It's not a very realistic proposal to bring to Ukraine, and obviously, it doesn't deal with the security situation, the long-term reality that
Ukraine faces, which is a Russia that wants to still conquer and be the imperial power governing Ukraine.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and what do you make of the timing of all of this? Because we know, of course, there is a corruption investigation ongoing
which involves senior people in the government, Zelenskyy himself is implicated, and Ukraine are under pressure on the frontlines. Is this a
reason that Donald Trump has returned to this now?
FARKAS: Well, we don't have any way of really knowing that definitively, but certainly, Ukraine is at a moment where politically, Ukraine is weak
because of the -- of the corruption scandal that, you know, is going up to very high levels in the Ukrainian government.
[14:10:00]
Having said that, the other, you know, dynamics haven't changed and nothing has made this or any peace deal more likely, you know, this week than last
week. We need sanctions to be enforced. We need the Ukrainians to continue impacting the Russian economy by taking out the oil resources.
MACFARLANE: And I mean, we've been talking just now about how the Kremlin is once again denying that they have had any involvement in this so-called
peace plan. But what do you make of really what they have achieved here? Because if it's to be believed this proposal has any chance, they will have
managed, in effect, to turn the U.S. around again from a position just a few weeks ago where they were applying, you know, the long-awaited
sanctions on oil and gas and effectively upping the pressure on Moscow.
FARKAS: Well, clearly, this is a very Russia-friendly proposal. And again, it's counter to international law. You don't hand over territory to an
aggressor, and it doesn't include security guarantees for Ukraine. It also -- my understanding is, curtails the size of the Ukrainian military. All of
this is not good for Ukraine.
But it's also not good for Europe or the United States. We don't want the Ukrainian military falling into Russian hands. We don't want a peace that
only encourages countries like China and others to try to alter borders using force. This just doesn't do anything except get maybe a ceasefire and
an unfair one at that.
MACFARLANE: And we have heard, of course, European leaders, Kaja Kallas, today pushing back on this plan, saying it would need support from Ukraine,
from the European Union to succeed. But how much can Europe stand up to the Trump administration on this? And what, if anything, can be done to turn
this around?
FARKAS: Well, Europe can and should stand up to the Trump administration on this proposal. It's not acceptable to Ukraine. It shouldn't be
acceptable to Europe, because it leaves Russia actually, frankly, even more emboldened and stronger at the end of this conflict, and able to turn with
more aggression towards Europe.
And we know that Russia has designs on parts of the European Union and NATO. I'm talking about the Baltic states here. We know that Russia has
attacked, and I'm not calling these sabotage operations. They have attacked the most recently the rail lines in Poland with bombs. I mean, this is not
a situation where Europe can afford to take a kind of lenient position vis- a-vis Russia.
MACFARLANE: I mean, Ukraine as well have invested a lot of time and energy in Donald Trump and turning him around to their position. And now, it seems
like they are back to square one, potentially. Zelenskyy was saying just moments ago that Ukraine and the U.S. teams are going to work together on
the points of this peace plan, but we know that there are real issues with the plan that Ukraine can just never agree to. So, how tied are -- how tied
are their hands on this?
FARKAS: Look, the Ukrainians are not going to agree to a plan that runs counter to their sovereign interests and gets them only as -- maybe they
will take some kind of ceasefire, but not a ceasefire that requires them to give up land and people, you know, for -- and to do it where the Russians
are not currently holding that territory.
The Ukrainians would like a lasting resolution and their right to insist on that. So, President Trump cannot force the Ukrainians to accept a deal. I
mean, the Ukrainians literally can fight an insurgent war. They can fight to the last man, woman and child, and I believe that the -- that the
Europeans, all of the -- you know, other countries, Japan is of course, supporting Ukraine as well.
Other countries need to make sure that this is not the peace that prevails, such as, you know, this 28-step plan, that it becomes maybe the beginning
of a conversation. But of course, that was always the beginning for the Russians.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and as you point out earlier, perhaps, the EU stepping up and using stronger measures would be a good point, not just relying on
deterrents. Evelyn, we appreciate your analysis this evening. Thank you for joining us.
FARKAS: Thank you for having me.
MACFARLANE: Ukraine has identified a Russian commander as a suspect in a gruesome massacre near Kyiv in 2022, accusing him of, quote, "systematic
and coordinated war crimes". According to an indictment, Yurii Vladimirovich kim ordered his troops to kill civilians in the town of Bucha
shortly after the Russian invasion.
Hundreds of bodies were found buried in mass graves. Others were found tortured or executed in basements. Ukrainian officials say the case against
Kim is based on evidence, including forensics and witness testimonies. So far, no response from the Kremlin.
[14:15:00]
Still to come tonight, President Trump signed the bill to release the Epstein file. So when will we see them? We'll have an update on the ongoing
saga after the break. And a mixed report on the U.S. economy. We'll examine the delayed data and how it may impact possible December rate cut.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: President Donald Trump has signed the bill to release the Epstein files. The Department of Justice now has to release those documents
within the next 30 days. However, it's not known how the files will be released or if current investigations will hold up any of the information.
One Republican senator says he hopes the release results in more arrests of others who may have been involved in Epstein's crimes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSH JAWLEY (R-MO): I regret the fact that there haven't been more prosecutions. I mean, obviously, DOJ prosecuted him. They prosecuted
Ghislaine Maxwell. I think that's kind of it, though. I just -- I have to say, it really surprises me as a former prosecutor, given the sheer number
of people involved in this.
I'm really surprised they cannot prosecute more people. And I would just urge them to take a close -- begging DOJ to take a close look at this. They
ought to be prosecuting whoever. These are serious crimes. These weren't just like -- oh, not a nice thing to do. These were really serious crimes.
So, I hope there'll be more prosecutions --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Our Kristen Holmes is joining us from the White House. And Kristen, unearthing the names of those involved has obviously been
something the victims have been pushing for, for a very long time. But it's still an open question, isn't it? As to how many of the Epstein files we
might see.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. And you know, we've talked to sources that are close to the Justice
Department, many of whom have said they're still unclear what's going to be redacted and unredacted in terms of these new documents.
There has been some concern inside of the Justice Department when it comes to people's names who might be in these documents, but who have not been
accused of wrongdoing, as well as for some of the victims who haven't come forward, who haven't publicly come out and said their name or told their
story.
We know that at least some of them have tried to stop some of their information from coming out, but all in all, the big question is whether or
not the Justice Department is going to abide by this deadline of December 19th and release the documents that they have said that they are going to
release.
And I talked to a number of officials in the White House who say President Trump is not going to stand in the way of any of these documents going out
of any of these files. And they do fully anticipate that there will be new information that comes out.
Of course, as we have said, and as you have noted, there is still this question about whether or not this new investigation that was announced by
the Attorney General and ordered by the President is going to have an impact on any of this.
[14:20:00]
If they're going to say they can't release all of these files because now there are evidence.
MACFARLANE: Kristen, stay with us for a moment. There's another story I actually want to get your take on. U.S. President Donald Trump is calling
for the arrest of Democratic lawmakers who urged military personnel and Intelligence officials to disobey any legal orders that might come from his
administration.
He posted this on social media today saying, quote, "seditious behavior punishable by death". He also posted this quote, "it's called seditious
behavior at the highest level. Each one of these traitors to our country should be arrested and put on trial." Trump was referring to Congress
members who posted a video online this week urging the military and Intelligence community to refuse illegal orders from his administration.
Kristen, I think even by Donald Trump's standards, this is pretty wild and highly inflammatory. What more are you hearing on this, and the reaction
from those Democratic lawmakers?
HOLMES: Well, first, I do just want to point out one thing that you said, because this will go into what I say next, which is that the idea of this
video that was put out by these Democrats, it was about service members and members of the Intelligence community not obeying orders that were illegal
or that would break the law.
And I think that's very important here, because it goes to what I'm going to say next, which is, we just saw Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt up
there on the podium doing a brief press briefing. She was asked specifically about this, and I do want to say, I'm not sure that you read
this one, but at one point, he did post or repost 16 posts about this topic, and one of them read "seditious behavior punishable by death".
And Leavitt was asked specifically if President Trump is calling for Democratic lawmakers to be executed. She said, no. And then she went on to
talk about how this was -- these various lawmakers encouraging a break in the chain of command, encouraged them not to listen to the commander-in-
chief.
But again, I mean, this is all about illegal activity, breaking the law, not just point-blank, don't listen to the commander-in-chief. And you are
right it is. It is even far for President Trump. Now, we did hear Speaker Johnson, who unsurprisingly as always, ended up defending Donald Trump by
saying that essentially, Democrats were acting wildly inappropriate by suggesting these military members should disobey unlawful orders from
Trump. No surprise there.
But we also heard from Senator Graham, who seemed to say that President Trump went too far or was over the top with these remarks. We're going to
continue at least, on Capitol Hill, to ask questions about that. But also here at the White House about how -- where this goes from here. I mean, you
even heard Karoline Leavitt kind of suggesting at one point that maybe there was legal recourse, saying, no, he doesn't want to execute anyone,
but saying maybe there was legal recourse.
She was also asked about the fact, as we've heard this White House say time-and-time again, political violence, that they've accused Democrats of
inciting political violence. And she was asked specifically, doesn't this do the same thing?
And that point, she kind of deferred and changed -- deflected is a better word for it, deflected from that topic and said, you're not even paying
attention to what these lawmakers did. So not directly answering the questions there. But of course, we'll continue asking about that.
MACFARLANE: Yes, I mean, the fact that the word execution was raised in the press briefing room is --
HOLMES: Right --
MACFARLANE: Quite frankly, astonishing. And I mean, look, I can't believe I'm going to ask this question, but under the constitution, I mean, Trump
is claiming seditious behavior as a capital offense. Do we know that that's true? Or is this --
HOLMES: I am not going to answer that with any source of actual knowledge, because I do not know the answer under the constitution. So, I do not want
to guess on that. However, I will tell you that again, he is claiming it's seditious behavior. Talking about how this is circumventing the commander-
in-chief, breaking the chain of command.
But if you go to what we actually heard from these Democratic lawmakers, and I think I have at least part of it here, it says, we know this is part
of the message that they had in this video. "We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now", these lawmakers say. "Americans trust their
military, but that trust is at risk.
This administration is pitting our uniformed military and Intelligence community professionals against American citizens." And then it just goes
on to say, "our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders." That's the last line. So, this is about illegal orders, essentially saying that the
men and women in the military do not have to listen if the orders are illegal. And then President Trump is saying that this equates to seditious
behavior because it is circumventing the chain of command.
MACFARLANE: OK, we will wait to see where this goes. Kristen, appreciate it. Thank you --
HOLMES: Thank you.
MACFARLANE: All right, after a strong morning, the rally on Wall Street has reversed course. Here's a look at the numbers. All down across the
board.
[14:25:00]
The Dow, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq by at least a point or two. Jitters are again being driven by concerns about A.I's stock valuations. Nvidia's
blockbuster earnings which drove markets yesterday have turned negative. And there's a mixed report on the U.S. economy. Well, the delayed September
data showed 119,000 jobs were added.
It also showed unemployment rose to nearly a four-year high. All this sparking concerns about what the Fed may do in December with interest
rates. CNN's Matt Egan is joining us. So, Matt, after a long delay, we were hoping for a bit of clarity, really, on the jobs numbers front. But that's
not really what we got today. What's been the reaction to this mixed picture?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Christina, this report really was about as mixed as you can get. We were hoping for clarity, but I think they really
just adds to the confusion. The good news is, yes, the economy added 119,000 jobs in September, that is well ahead of the expectation of 50,000.
And that suggests that the job market was not imploding as of the end of September. The bad news, though, is there were some more negative
revisions, both July and August were revised lower. August went from a tiny gain to a tiny loss, which means that after a period of nearly four years
of uninterrupted monthly job gains, the U.S. economy has lost jobs in two of the last four months.
The other bad news is the unemployment rate, it continues to move higher. It's not that high historically, but the trend is not a good one. It's
moving in the wrong direction. In fact, this is the highest level for the unemployment rate in four years. Now, when you look at this sector
breakdown, the job growth continues to be in healthcare, adding another 60,000 jobs.
Construction after losing jobs a few months in a row, gained jobs. In fact, this was the most that the construction sector has gained in any month in a
year. So, that's encouraging. But manufacturing, manufacturing has lost jobs every single month since the President rolled out his Liberation Day
tariffs in April, the Liberation Day tariffs that are designed to boost employment in manufacturing.
So, that's the exact opposite of what they want to see, and relatedly, as imports have plunged because of high tariffs, the transportation and
warehousing sector lost 25,000 jobs in September alone. I think bottom line here, this report was so mixed, it's probably not going to change the
needle all that much.
The job report -- the job market looked kind of shaky heading into this report. It still looks shaky right now. What's telling as I asked Moody's
economist Mark Zandi, how concerned he is, 1 to 10 about the job market? He said before this report, he said seven, maybe eight after the report, he
said seven, maybe eight. So, we're kind of back where we started. Christina?
MACFARLANE: Yes, it'd be interesting to see how these job numbers and the inflation numbers go down with the Fed when they meet in next month. Matt,
appreciate it, thanks.
EGAN: Thanks.
MACFARLANE: Now a bipartisan who is who of Washington officials are in the U.S. capitol for the funeral of Dick Cheney; the former Vice President who
died earlier this month at the age of 84. Among the mourners, former Presidents George W. Bush, who remembered his former VP as a true man of
the west, and Joe Biden.
Not in attendance, President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, a source said neither was invited. The service at Washington's National
Cathedral include a full military honors, Cheney's daughter, former congresswoman Liz Cheney said her father always put the U.S. constitution
and patriotism over partisanship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIZ CHENEY, FORMER U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN: Though he was inspired to service by President Kennedy, Dick Cheney became a Republican, but he knew that
bonds of party must always yield to the single bond we share as Americans. For him, a choice between defense of the constitution and defense of your
political party was no choice at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Cheney, a staunch conservative, was deeply unpopular when he left office in 2009 for his instrumental role in the Iraq war. But the
life-long Republican broke ranks with the GOP to speak out against Trump after the January 6th Capitol insurrection. Now, a long-awaited public
inquiry is criticizing the U.K.'s initial response to COVID 19 in early 2020.
The inquiry ordered by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2021, describes a chaotic, toxic culture within his government as it grappled
with the onset of the pandemic. It slams Johnson's leadership as indecisive, and says he failed to inject urgency into the response. The
report says the government's delay in locking down the country resulted in about 23,000 more deaths.
It also says a failure to act sooner as cases increase later in the year led to additional national lockdowns. All right, still to come tonight,
USAID funded emergency food aid, education programs and health screening in Mozambique. Now, it's reeling from the cuts amid a resurgence in ISIS
activity. We'll have an exclusive report just ahead.
And later, Israel says it hit Hamas targets, but Palestinian authorities say 12 children are among the dead. We'll have the latest on an escalation
of violence in Gaza after the ceasefire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. The United States Agency for International Development, known as USAID, once funded a range of humanitarian projects
in Mozambique, from millions of dollars in food aid to supporting treatment for HIV and malaria. Last year, USAID gave $586 million to the country.
That's equivalent of 3 percent of Mozambique's GDP.
But earlier this year, those programs were slashed under the Trump administration. The sudden closure of USAID projects has left the Southern
African nation reeling, and ISIS is resurging there. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has this exclusive report from Mozambique, and we want to warn you, some of
the footage is disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It looks like a place where nothing should go wrong, but ISIS are seeing a resurgence across Africa, home to two-thirds of their global
violence this year, rising fast here in northern Mozambique.
We land in the flashpoint of Macimba de Praia, seven weeks after ISIS started their worst offensive since they occupied the town in 2021.
[14:35:00]
The government's grip is so shaky, they've let Rwandan forces in to be the real muscle on streets where ISIS seem to rule the night.
WALSH: So, USAID's contribution to Mozambique amounted to about 3 percent of its GDP. And that USAID money helped the economy here, development,
schools, really enabled the government to try and promote its hold on the place. And so, now that money has suddenly vanished, well, they're reeling
here. And ISIS are back.
WALSH (voice-over): The little video we have of ISIS' recent onslaught is terrifying. Outgunning Mozambican forces, slaughtering captives. But in
October, they tried something new, less savage and confident. They walked unopposed, armed, in stolen uniforms, straight into this mosque in
Messumba's coastal fishing community to deliver a manifesto.
The crowd didn't flee, but instead filmed. When ISIS arrived, asked for the keys and walked in wearing their boots, the imam had presumed they were
soldiers.
WALSH: What did you think on that night when these guys came in?
SUMAIL ISSA, IMAM (through translator): The seven were standing outside and two came inside after opening the doors. They ordered the old man,
asking for the microphone to broadcast their voices. When they displayed their banner like this, I was surprised that they are Al-Shabab.
WALSH: It is extraordinary, after all these years of ISIS spread across the Middle East, to stand in -- startling to stand in a place where they
had freedom of movement just a couple of days ago.
WALSH (voice-over): 93,000 people around this area fled in just six weeks after ISIS' attacks began on September 7th. Rafael takes us directly to the
home of his brother-in-law, now abandoned. They were not rich and also took U.S. aid.
RAFAEL NDINENGO (through translator): He was tied up, they took a stick and beat him. They cut off his head and put it on his bottom. This place
you see here is where we laid my son's spilled blood. You are going to make me cry because of my son. My son, I lost him. My feelings for my son,
you're going to make me cry. I didn't want to come here. He was calling me papa, papa.
WALSH: Eight men killed by ISIS, seven of them beheaded, some in front of their families. And you just -- for looking around, I mean, there's nobody
here. It's startling. This used to be a vibrant area, Christian area.
WALSH (voice-over): The money USAID spent here urgently tried to curb the spread of ISIS. They gave $50,000 here to help motorcycle taxi drivers
improve their working conditions with paperwork, vests, helmets. Their anger about that help suddenly disappearing and then us asking questions
clear.
WALSH: Emotions are incredibly high here. I mean, it's all about people's livelihoods, really, and a lot of anger.
WALSH (voice-over): The man who ran the project describes how it is the only way to stop ISIS.
KHAMISSA FABIAO, PROJECT COORDINATOR (through translator): If they have an opportunity to earn money, I don't think they will go into the jungle,
because nobody wants to die. When we started this project, I personally recruited many young people to keep them integrated into society. President
Trump should have a heart.
WALSH (voice-over): Fishermen, the main workforce here, but also a source of ISIS recruits. We visit a USAID project aimed too at giving them a
better livelihood, now shut.
10,000 new arrivals in this camp alone met with a steep drop in food aid.
SAVIANA NDIWICA, VILLAGER (through translator): They come and immediately start shooting. There is war. Beheaded. You flee with nothing. They come
and cut your throat. When you see someone else being killed, you flee along to a safe place. Since we arrived here, we sleep on the floor.
WALSH (voice-over): But Mozambique could be rich. Around the town of Parma, shielded by these fortifications, it's clear that while the Trump
administration is stripping away aid here, it's also investing fast and hard, a $4.7 billion loan in March, in vast liquid natural gas facilities.
A contradiction where wealth is held up by a wave of ISIS savagery which surged after the U.S. aid meant to calm it vanished.
[14:40:00]
A State Department spokesperson said the U.S. had continued to provide assistance this year in Mozambique, a majority of which was life-saving
food and nutrition assistance. They added that worldwide aid was constantly under review to ensure it meets the needs of the receiving country and the
priorities of the United States.
The State Department did not respond to our questions about the resurgence of ISIS following the withdrawal of U.S. aid. Their statement added, the
United States continues to be the most generous nation in the world. This administration is significantly enhancing the efficiency and strategic
impact of foreign assistance programs around the world. We call on other nations to increase in burden-sharing globally.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Mocimboa da Praia, Mozambique.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: All right. Still to come tonight. Every time we try to regain hope, the shelling starts again, those words from one Palestinian mother in
Gaza as Israeli attacks claimed dozens more lives despite the ceasefire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. When Ahtisa Manalo tripped and fell on the Miss Philippines pageant stage, she thought her dreams of winning the national
title were over. Little did the 28-year-old beauty queen know, but this moment would be the one to propel her to stardom and secure her place at
this year's Miss Universe competition.
Now, for a country so obsessed with pageants, the title of Miss Philippines comes with a lot of recognition and pressure. CNN's Angelica Pursley met
with Manolo as she prepares for the international competition.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANGELICA PURSLEY, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Stumbling on stage is a beauty queen's nightmare.
AHTISA MANALO, MISS UNIVERSE PHILIPPINES 2025: When it happened, it went really quiet.
PURSLEY (voice-over): But for Ahtisa Manolo, it was the way she got up that made her country fall in love with her.
MANALO: I felt the vibration of everyone's yells.
PURSLEY (voice-over): What could have been a disaster turned into a defining moment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations, Queen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You keep coming back.
MANALO: I still have the bruise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More confident, more empowered, more beautiful.
MANALO: Whenever I fall in life, I always make sure I come back stronger.
PURSLEY (voice-over): The 28-year-old has been competing in beauty pageants since she was 10, but it wasn't until this year, her last attempt,
that she clinched the national title of Miss Universe Philippines.
[14:45:00]
Now, with the nation watching her every move, Manolo is at the Super Bowl of pageants to try to take home the Miss Universe crown.
Manolo has been training for months with her team, which includes Jonas Gaffud, nicknamed the Queenmaker.
JONAS GAFFUD, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MISS UNIVERSE PHILIPPINES: The walk is not just runway, it's not just pasarela, it's about your confidence. It's
about how you shine on stage.
MANALO: Pageants are a marathon, like you're on stage for how many hours and you've got to maintain the same posture. You've got to make sure that
your chest is out, your core is squeezed, your perineum, I don't even know where that is, but it has to be squeezed.
GAFFUD: What I want is for them to have muscle memory, that it's not something that they're thinking, but it's natural on them on stage. I'm
looking for the confidence, the spark, the aura of a winner.
MANALO: My first ever pageant, I was 10 years old. I was told if I win the pageant, I get one-year free tuition fee. And I come from a poor
background. And at a young age, I understood that this is something that I needed, that my family needed.
My grandmother, she's an amazing woman. She was there supporting me all throughout me growing up. After losing my grandmother, I realized that if I
don't push for that dream of being Miss Universe, I would be doing her a disservice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN: What a great story. Miss Universe is actually tomorrow, so we wish her all the very best.
Now, chaos has erupted on Indonesia's Java Island after its Semeru volcano started spewing ash clouds as high as two kilometers tall off its peak. You
can see from the image behind me here. Now, thousands more people were evacuated from the island when thick clouds of hot ash, lava and gas
descended down the volcano's side. And while no injuries have been reported, footage from surrounding villages shows the extent of the damage
caused by the eruption. And you can see from this time-lapse video the intensity of the explosion and subsequent smog.
An amazing glimpse of an interstellar traveler passing through from another galaxy, that's the NASA assessment of this comet that zipped by Mars
recently. Space cameras caught various angles of the comet known as 3I/Atlas. It's only the third observed object to originate outside of our
solar system and to pass through it. The U.S. Space Agency released the news on Wednesday and it was unable to share it before because of the
government shutdown.
We'll be right back after this quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:00]
MACFARLANE: Qatar, a key mediator of the Gaza ceasefire, is condemning what it calls brutal Israeli airstrikes, saying they're threatening the
fragile truce. The Palestinian Health Ministry says the latest strikes have killed at least 32 people in Gaza, including 12 children and eight women.
The IDF says it struck Hamas targets after its soldiers came under fire. Hamas denies that account and accuses Israel of a dangerous escalation.
It's calling on other -- on the U.S. and other mediators to intervene.
Palestinian authorities say 312 people in Gaza have now been killed since the ceasefire was declared. Residents say it's a truce only in name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They say there's a ceasefire. Where is this ceasefire they're talking about? Where are the guarantors of
the ceasefire? Every day, 10, 15, 20 martyrs die. We wake up to martyrs and go to sleep to martyrs. And they say there's a ceasefire.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Azzam's (ph) house, five people, they were sleeping. They are children, children, children, old people,
children. They are children, children. What is the fault of these children?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Our Nic Robertson is following developments tonight from Jerusalem and joins us. And, Nic, I mean, there is huge concern now over
the fragility of this ceasefire. And this was a devastating strike for those Palestinian families. The IDFs are claiming they struck Hamas
targets. What more are you learning about what happened here?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, initially, the IDF claimed that they'd actually hit a couple of Hamas commanders. And
there were strikes in a number of different places, just south of Gaza City. So, the sort of northern part of Gaza, and also in the southern part
of Gaza around Khan Younis.
We've learned more today from the government spokesman here. As you say, the IDF blamed Hamas. Hamas say it wasn't them. What the government
spokesman described in some detail is a group of terrorists crossing the yellow line, this is the line that demarcates the area between IDF-
controlled Gaza and Hamas-Palestinian part of Gaza. It's an ill-defined line that has, at some points on it, big yellow cinder blocks.
But the government spokesman saying that a couple of terrorists crossed that line, that they were an immediate threat to the IDF. The IDF took
action and neutralized them. Then in another location, the government spokesman said that more terrorists moved into an area where there were IDF
operating. And at that moment, that's when they decided to go ahead with the airstrikes.
And interestingly, and I think this speaks to the fragility of the ceasefire, it speaks to the interpretations about the U.N. Security Council
resolution and how it's supposed to be implemented. The government spokesperson said, and the IDF Israel did not call any government to get
permission to go ahead with these strikes.
And this perhaps speaks to the civilian military command control center that's been set up. There's a U.S. three-star general running it. But the
things that the Security Council resolution called for a board of peace, for oversight and international stabilization force to monitor the
ceasefire, keep -- you know, disarm Hamas is one interpretation of it, none of that is in place.
And as long as those instruments to hold the ceasefire together in fact, not in word, but indeed, unless they're there, incidents as happened
yesterday are going to happen again. It seems almost inevitable. And given the lack of trust, obviously on both sides here.
MACFARLANE: But, Nic, that is a problem in itself because you say it is very likely these attacks are going to happen again, more Palestinian
lives. But this international stabilization force could be many months away, right?
ROBERTSON: Absolutely. I mean, there's no troops that have actually been publicly named as coming. The details of how they'll operate haven't been
detailed. Diplomats I spoke to about the Security Council resolution before it was finally voted on were concerned about that lack of detail.
[14:55:00]
And then there's the interpretation of what's supposed to be implemented through that resolution when it is. Hamas has said very clearly doesn't
want the border peace. It sees as an international guardianship has said very clearly it doesn't want the international stabilization force
disarming them. It refuses to do that. Whereas Israel says very clearly, they see the stabilization force as a mechanism to disarm Hamas and make
Israel safe from Hamas attacks.
So, in that context, both sides, both parties completely have a disparate view over the way forward. And there's no mechanism to make the situation
go forward. So, that lack of trust is going to feed into the pre-standing lack of trust and then the inability not to restart the conflict.
MACFARLANE: Well, we'll of course continue to follow this. Nic, for now, from Jerusalem tonight, we appreciate it. Thank you. And thank you all for
watching tonight. Stay with CNN. "What We Know" with Max Foster is coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
